LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2018-19978: A buffer overflow vulnerability in the DHCP and PPPOE configuration interface of the Auerswald COMfort 1200...

A buffer overflow vulnerability in the DHCP and PPPOE configuration interface of the Auerswald COMfort 1200 IP phone 3.4.4.1-10589 allows a remote attacker (authenticated as simple user in the same network as the device) to trigger remote code execution via a POST request (ManufacturerName parameter) to the web server on the device. The web server is running with root privileges and the injected code will also run with root privileges.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
Discuss exposureBack to CVEs
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This issue affects the web configuration interface of an Auerswald COMfortel 1200 IP phone version 3.4.4.1-10589. A network-adjacent authenticated user could abuse a buffer overflow to run code with root privileges on the phone. The bundle does not show confirmed active exploitation or a CVSS score.

Executive priority

Treat this as a high-priority internal network exposure issue for environments using the named Auerswald phone model. Root-level compromise of phones could affect telephony operations and network trust boundaries, but urgency depends on confirmed deployment and management-interface reachability.

Technical view

CVE-2018-19978 is a buffer overflow in the DHCP and PPPOE configuration interface. The source describes remote code execution through the ManufacturerName parameter, requiring simple-user authentication and same-network access. Because the device web server runs as root, successful code execution also runs as root.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely where Auerswald COMfortel 1200 IP phones running 3.4.4.1-10589 have reachable web management interfaces on internal networks. The bundle does not establish other affected versions, other products, or internet-scale exposure.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed exploitation. Exploitation requires same-network access, device web server reachability, and at least simple-user authentication. The root execution context makes compromise significant if those prerequisites exist.

Researcher notes

Evidence is limited to the CVE description and cited vendor/Fraunhofer references. No CVSS vector, CWE, exploit-in-the-wild signal, or fixed firmware version is included in the provided bundle. Do not generalize impact beyond COMfortel 1200 IP 3.4.4.1-10589 without additional vendor evidence.

Mitigation direction

  • Check Auerswald and Fraunhofer guidance for confirmed fixed firmware or vendor mitigations.
  • Inventory COMfortel 1200 IP phones and identify firmware version 3.4.4.1-10589.
  • Restrict phone web management access to trusted administrative networks only.
  • Review and minimize non-admin user accounts on affected phones.
  • Monitor vendor support pages before assuming a specific fixed version.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm whether COMfortel 1200 IP phones exist in asset records.
  • Verify firmware versions through approved administrative channels.
  • Check whether the phone web interface is reachable from user networks.
  • Review access logs for unexpected authenticated configuration activity.
  • Document whether vendor guidance has been applied or remains unavailable.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
4

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

description · low confidence lookup

Execution behavior lookup

The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.

Open ATT&CK lookup
cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2018-19978 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
3Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/an/an/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.